Pirates Minor League Report: Johnson Turning a Corner, Hernandez Has Best High-A Start
Termarr Johnson’s slow start to the season with Triple-A Indianapolis was one of the biggest storylines in the Pirates system for the first couple months of the season.
Johnson, who was drafted fourth overall in 2022, is still batting just .196/.310/.301 on the year, but the recently-turned 22-year-old has been performing well of late.
Johnson is batting .303 (10 for 33) with three doubles, a triple, one home run and three RBI over his last seven games. So far this month, Johnson owns a .262/.368/.492 batting line with four doubles, one triple, three home runs, eight RBI and four steals in 16 games. For perspective, he hit just .167 with five extra-base hits (one homer) in 44 games through the end of May.
Johnson is ranked as Pittsburgh’s fifth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline and has consistently been an above-average performer at each level. Although it took a while, it looks like he’s starting to get acclimated to Triple-A.
Here are some other recent performances and trends worth noting in the organization.
Triple-A Indianapolis
After he was acquired from the Braves for Joey Bart on Thursday, Hunter Stratton made his first appearance back in the organization and threw two-scoreless innings against Iowa on Sunday. General manager Ben Cherington said on his 93.7 The Fan radio show that the Pirates are giving Stratton a chance to get his feet back under him before getting a chance to pitch with the big-league club.
José Urquidy threw five-shutout innings with five strikeouts on Sunday and has now won each of his last five decisions. The right-hander has a 3.47 ERA over his last seven starts dating back to May 20.
Double-A Altoona
Connor Wietgrefe threw a season-high seven innings and didn’t allow a run against Akron on Friday. The left-hander extended his scoreless-innings streak to 18 and leads the Eastern League with a 0.39 ERA this month.
Fellow left-hander Connor Oliver fired five-shutout innings against Akron on Thursday. He has a 0.93 ERA (1er/9.2ip) in two starts since the Pirates promoted him to Altoona.
Outfield prospect Lonnie White Jr. returned from the seven-day injured list and extended his on-base streak to 14 games. White is slashing .286/.389/.527 with seven doubles, one triple, six home runs, 18 RBI and seven steals in 32 games with the Curve.
High-A Greensboro
Top pitching prospect Seth Hernandez had his best start since he was promoted to Greensboro. The Pirates’ first-round pick in last year’s draft allowed just one hit in six-shutout innings against Winston-Salem on Saturday. He walked one batter and struck out eight.
In seven starts with Greensboro since his promotion, Hernandez is now 2-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.
The Grasshoppers’ potent offense has hit at least one home run in 27 straight games. It is the longest streak by any team in Minor League Baseball since at least 2005. Tony Blanco Jr. has been one of several Pirates prospects on a power surge for Greensboro with three home runs over his last six games.
Low-A Bradenton
Infielder Eddie Rynders has reached base safely in 12 straight games and is batting .395 with a 1.256 OPS, one double, one triple, four home runs and eight RBI during that stretch.
Levi Sterling threw six-shutout innings on two hits on Wednesday against Clearwater. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in his last five starts and ranks sixth in the Florida State League with a 2.65 ERA in three starts this month.
Left-hander Reinold Navarro is 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA, 57 strikeouts in 33.1 innings and a .130 batting average against in his last 10 appearances/three starts. On the season, the 19-year-old is 4-1 with a 2.01 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 40.1 innings across 13 appearances/six starts.
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